The Jews of The Amazon 2012-04-18

DID YOU KNOW that in the 19th century, the rubber boom in South America brought about a social and economic transformation of the Amazon region ?

Thousands of immigrants from the other side of the Atlantic, including numerous young Moroccan Jews, made their way to South America searching for better opportunities.

Some of these Jewish men who went into the Amazon seeking fortune and adventure, married native Amazonian women, and created a unique hybrid culture, combining elements of both groups. The members of this community consider themselves Jews; many have immigrated to Israel.

DID YOU ALSO know that many of their descendants continue to bear typically Moroccan Jewish family names such as Benayon, Attias, Benchimon, Pinto, Levi, Serfaty,Cohen, Ben-Zaken and more ?